Karen, Valene, Gary and Abby have already been chosen to automatically qualify for the knockout round of the contest.

This round is to select 2 more Knots Landing characters to join them in the next round.

Please select the THREE additional characters from Knots Landing you would like be part of the World Cup. List your choices in order of preference. You can give reasons for your vote which might help others with their choices but this is entirely optional, it's absolutely fine just to give the names.

As before, the top 2 characters of all the votes will go through to the next round and the character in third place will join characters from the other soaps in a final vote off for the remaining 2 places in the knock out rounds.

1. Laura Avery - One of the original characters and was involved in many key storylines, not least in her relationship with Ciji in the lead up to her death. Laura's own departure from Knots Landing was one of the real tearjerkers of the series.

2. Richard Avery - Again another of the original characters. Funny, unpredictable and always interesting. He also had a tearjerker of a departure from the cul-de-sac.

3. Lilimae Clements - I thought she was a perfect addition to the cast when she joined the series. Her interactions with Chip were great and her singing was hilarious, even though she wasn't really that bad at it.

1. Richard Avery
John Pleshette's intense, edgy portrayal paired with writing that kept exploring new facets of Richard's underdog status - both real and imagined - kept Richard the most fascinating character on the block for me. Whether I thought he needed a hug or a kick, I was 100% invested every step of the way.

2. Greg Sumner
One of TV's most complex men. In a genre designed to let the viewer into the world of its characters, Greg's welcome mat was never on display. Most of the time, all we could do was press our nose against the window and try to work out what was going on inside. Bill Devane brought an unpredictability to the series that took it somewhere uniquely special.

3. Lilimae Clements
Equal parts vanity and vulnerability. A character so steeped in history and backstory that she could only possibly be embodied by an actress of Julie Harris's calibre. She could make the audience laugh in one moment and break our hearts the next. And she could do it all with an autoharp. Then there's the amazing mother/daughter chemistry between JH and JVA.

It was a tough choice between Lilimae and Laura. But since Laura has been chosen by 100% of the first five voters and Lilimae only 40% I gave my vote where it was needed.

Besides, having Laura sharing space with both her husbands could be a little awkward.​

Another tough round to choose for given the abundance of great characters but here goes.

1: Laura - I love the bulk of the female cast on the show over the years (except you Diana) but Laura is my favourite alongside Abby. Tough and outspoken, she had a straight talking, east coast edge to her that contrasted perfectly alongside mother hen Karen, Val's southern softness and Abby's glamorous scheming.

2: Greg - William Devane is a great actor to watch and the fact that he was able to join an already established cast of characters and still become one of the focal points of the rest of the show's run, is testament to how strong a character Greg was. Pairing him with Laura only served to strengthen his character further IMO.

3: Lilimae - I love Lilimae. She was so scrappy. Calling out Gary for screwing around, bawling Abby out of it in the police station, running over Chip, slapping Cathy out of the series, shouting her son off a roof. Of course, it wasn't always high drama. She had some really tender moments with Val too.

The 2 winners of this round who now qualify for the knock out round of the World Cup are confirmed as:

Lilimae Clements was third place so she will now join Sammy Jo Dean, Jock Ewing, Julia Cumson and one character I selected from Flamingo Road (Lute-Mae Saunders) and from The Colbys (Miles Colby) in a vote for a final chance to qualify.

A record 17 people voted in this round so a big thanks to everyone who participated.

More details of the final qualification round, the first to involve characters from different soaps competing against each other, will follow shortly.